Monumental lifting project underway at Sheffield Forgemasters

A monumental lifting project at the city’s tallest single-storey building is underway as we restore a unique heat treatment facility.

Sheffield’s Professional Lifting Services Ltd (PLS) are removing a one-of-a-kind water-powered crane through the roof of the 40-metre-tall West Heat Treatment works at Sheffield Forgemasters’ Hawke Street site, to replace it with a new crane manufactured by GH Cranes.

Logistics of the lift have taken more than 12 months of planning, with challenges of height, radius, and reach, requiring a 650-tonne Crawler Crane, plus the removal of a significant section of the roof to access the job.

Steve Marshall, Head of Engineering at Sheffield Forgemasters, said: “We have worked with PLS for several years and they have a great deal of expertise in managing highly complex lifting operations, which few businesses could attempt.

“A lifting plan for the West Heat Treatment crane swap has been underway for more than 12 months and addresses the difficulties of working in very confined spaces, at a height of 40 metres above floor level.
“This project is estimated to take 14 weeks to complete and is by far the most complicated lifting operation that we have undertaken, but it is essential to reinstate this dedicated facility.”

The installation of a new crane is part of a project to reinstate the West Heat Treatment building as a specialised facility for the vertical heat treatment of long, cylindrical forgings to retain their shape and establish material hardness.

Photo: Nick Cutts (left), Engineering Project Manager at Sheffield Forgemasters, with Kevan Greasley (right), Operations Director at Professional Lifting Services

Kevan Greasley, Operations Director at PLS, said: “This is a monumental lift, with a wealth of considerations and factors to enable a successful decommissioning of a 100-plus-year-old crane and installation of a new, highly efficient beam crane at very high elevations.

“PLS is the primary contractor for the West Heat Treatment project, and we are working with a highly skilled team of sub-contractors to orchestrate a lift plan which has no room for error or misjudgement.”

A Liebherr L1600 Crawler Crane with a 90-meter boom and a lifting capacity of 600 tonnes, will remove a Sir William Arroll water-powered crane from 1913, replacing it with a 130-tonne capacity beam crane with 34 metres per minute hoist speed.

Contractors on the project are: DWLS (lifting and slinging specialist), Weldex (crane hire), AB Roofing Solutions, Don Valley Steel Fabricators & Engineers, and Houzzlife Scaffolding.